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Are there any flowers that shouldn't be planted near veg?

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  • Are there any flowers that shouldn't be planted near veg?

    Have wondered this for a while, not sure if I should post it in the flower section, but thought that veggies may have more experience?

    Are there any that are poisionous? Any that a young child shouldn't touch (read: eat - no doubt that'll happen ) Planning on some sq ft bed, but would also like to spruce it up with colourful flowers too, as well as around the garden too!
    Thanks

  • #2
    Foxgloves for one. Mind you the fruit of the potato plant (looks like a small green tomato) is poisonous.

    Also see this list,

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_poisonous_flowers
    Last edited by Capsid; 30-03-2010, 08:15 PM.
    Mark

    Vegetable Kingdom blog

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    • #3
      to be safe, teach your child not to eat any flowers (mind you, my nephew once ate a trowel full of mud and it did him no harm. He also drank from the dirty old bird bath)
      All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Two_Sheds View Post
        to be safe, teach your child not to eat any flowers (mind you, my nephew once ate a trowel full of mud and it did him no harm. He also drank from the dirty old bird bath)
        LOL, ohh wow. They will also inevitably learn that ants are spicy.

        But Two Sheds is right, teaching them, perhapse as well forgoing any foxgloves or lupins is a good idea as there are other opportunists that will grow in some unattented corner, like nightshade or hemlock. Bit of a stretch, but I got my cousins to learn the latin names for the really distinctive stuff by telling them they were Harry Potter spells. (mwahahaha, foolish children, being tricked into learning) They recently confronted me over this...
        The Impulsive Gardener

        www.theimpulsivegardener.com

        Chelsea Uribe Garden Design www.chelseauribe.com

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        • #5
          I'd avoid growing datura as that is pretty deadly. Most plants would be no more than a stomach ache. Unless you live next to a river and go chervil picking it is unlikely they will eat hemlock waterdropwort. Some you shouldn't touch..giant hogweed can blister you in the sunshine...but you wouldn't want it in a vegbed. I think lily of the valley is quite bad, daffodil bulbs....you can't really name them all.

          I was always quite careful to ensure mine didn't eat any berries without asking....yew and nightshade can kill....they didn't tend to go for flowers or leaves anyway...still can't get them to eat salads now. I did point out foxgloves but didn't pull them out the garden...I think it is better to teach children really they are built to learn.

          Regarding them living in a sterile world..true a bit of dirt is no bad thing for the immune system and indeed my son was often found to be eating mud as a baby....then one day he filled up a waterpistol from the waterbutt at the allotment. squirting it in his mouth... He was desperately ill for a week with some notifiable bug....so perhaps don't rely on that too much eh.
          Last edited by Paulottie; 31-03-2010, 07:49 PM.

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          • #6
            Just a thought, sweetpea pods are poisonous too - if you have a little one advisable not to grow with runner beans etc.

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            • #7
              As a side note, I'd say the blue slug sweeties should be avoided
              All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Two_Sheds View Post
                As a side note, I'd say the blue slug sweeties should be avoided
                Thats a good point and rodent ones too; a few years ago my dog gorged himself on some of these in the park (they apparently had a rat problem) and I had to rush him to the vet....(he survived )

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                • #9
                  NONE
                  Flowers, waste of valuable space. Best type are composted!
                  Expect the worst in life and you will probably have under estimated!

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                  • #10
                    On a side note: If you really want to be planting flowers amongst the veggies , then what about choosing companion varieties, then you can have both colour AND pratical use.

                    Then just teach the younglings - I have two of my own (3 and very nearly 6 - the 'very nearly' is very important btw ) - not to touch or eat ANYTHING in the garden without mommy or daddys' permission. That said, although I'd love to include them in a salad at some point, I wont be eating our nasturtiums until the youngest is a little older, so as not to confuse the matter .

                    Regards
                    Reet
                    x

                    Here's a link another member posted a few weeks ago about companion plants.

                    Companion Planting

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                    • #11
                      Thanks all, really helpful

                      Not intending on putting flowers in with Veg really, but in the borders and pots around the garden I'd like to plant some, if not only to attract bees, etc -whilst other veg aren't flowering yet.

                      I should probably tell her not to eat these bright pink crown prince seeds I got from GN then too, eh? I'm sure they're some sort of pills really!

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                      • #12
                        All parts of the castor oil plant are poisonous but they are spectacular and very easy to grow.
                        The parks dept here plant them out in the beds in Bournemouth and Boscombe Gardens though.
                        Castor oil plant

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by chrismarks View Post
                          these bright pink crown prince seeds
                          Why aren't they white? They must have fungicide or something on them, in which case no don't eat them
                          All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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                          • #14
                            I would suggest you don't plant stuff like Lupins they attract greenfly last thing you need is more of them on your veg plot.

                            It all depends on how good you are at Intergrated Crop Management I guess. Marigolds, Poppies are good and there is another plant called the Egg Yolk plant but I can't think of it's latin name I think it begins with L.

                            Have a good easter looks like the April Showers have started in the North West as well.
                            http://www.greenhousesensation.co.uk

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Ashley@GS View Post
                              Marigolds, Poppies are good and there is another plant called the Egg Yolk plant but I can't think of it's latin name I think it begins with L.
                              It's the poached egg plant - Limnanthes douglasii. Good for attracting bees, hoverflies and digging in as a green manure.
                              Whooops - now what are the dogs getting up to?

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